Hand-held blowers are generally used for cleaning and/or removing light objects from surfaces, such as blowing away fallen leaves, and/or blowing away light debris, for example. Conventional hand-held blowers include an air outlet or tube, which extend in a generally outward direction from a frontal portion of the blower. During operation, the user selectively points the tube of the blower in the direction of the object(s) and presses a trigger. The trigger is connected to a switch, which activates a fan within the blower. Accordingly, the fan generates a relatively powerful force of air, which is exerted from the tube. By pointing the tube at the objects, the user is able to move the objects towards a selected location using the force of air.
In general, most mobile blowers are either gas-powered or battery-powered and have a self-contained power source, allowing the blower to be transported without the restriction of a cord. Most gas-powered blowers include an internal combustion engine, a blower section driven by the engine, and a handle coupled to the body. One disadvantage of gas-powered blowers during operation is that they may release undesirable emissions into the environment, which is not environmentally favorable. In addition, gas-powered blowers require that the user maintain a constant supply of fuel for the engine. This requires repetitive refilling of the blower that may result in further negative environmental impact as a result of storage and/or spillage.
Most battery-powered blowers use a high powered battery to provide power the blower. Such batteries may be between 18V to 80V, and may have between twenty to forty cells. One common problem with generally high powered batteries are that the batteries are relatively heavy in comparison to the overall weight of the blower. Also, the batteries are typically positioned at the rear of the blower and at a position, front to back that is vertically under the handle, which requires the user to exert high torque forces to turn the blower and overcome the forces created by its location.
To optimize the user's experience, and reduce user fatigue during operation, it is important to balance the component masses within the blower. It is further important to reduce the torque forces required by the user to operate the blower during operation. The two heaviest components of the battery-powered blower are generally the battery and the motor. In most existing blowers, the battery is positioned at a rearward end of the blower.
One disadvantage of positioning the battery near the rear of blower is that the distance from the handle (the suspension point) to the rear of the blower can be rather long. As such, the torque forces required to rotate the blower left to right, or vice-versa, during operation, are relatively high, requiring the user to exert an high amount of energy to operate the blower. Accordingly, blowers having such a configuration may be rather difficult for a user to operate over an extended period of time.